1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for heating and fixing applied ink, in particular a toner powder, on a plate-shaped support, wherein the ink applied to the coated surface of the support is fixed on the support applying the application of heat, as well as a device for executing the method.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The use of infrared radiation for heating and fixing an ink application on a paper or a sheet-shaped support is known from German Patent Reference DE 198 57044 A1. The short-wave infrared radiation here has a typical emission temperature of 2000 to 2500 K. Paper has a low weight per surface unit, which is less than 100 g/m2 as a rule.
A further method for toner fixation is known from European Patent Reference EP 0 989 473 A2. In this case the toner powder is fixed on the paper by an inductively heated roller.
In this known method, a thin copying paper is heated relatively quickly, because it also has a weight per surface unit<100 g/m2. Thick-walled plate-shaped materials, such as glass or ceramic plates, plastic plates, etc. cannot easily be heated up in this way, because they have a clearly higher weight per surface unit and therefore a clearly higher heat capacity.